Three years ago, Cleveland fans could only whine and complain when Maryland Gov. Parris N. Glendening (D) helped lure their beloved Browns to Baltimore. Now they are being urged to get even.

On Sunday, a columnist for the Plain Dealer urged readers to contribute to the campaign of Ellen R. Sauerbrey, the leading contender for the Republican gubernatorial nomination. "This year, she deserves to win," wrote Brent Larkin, the paper's editorial page director. "She deserves to win simply because she is not Parris N. Glendening."

Put simply, fans in Cleveland hate Glendening, who came up with a $220 million taxpayer-financed stadium for the football team, renamed the Ravens. Glendening's enthusiastic chortling over the announcement that the Browns were moving still angers Clevelanders.

"To remember Glendening's performance that day on a makeshift stage in a downtown Baltimore parking lot is to remember a man who rubbed the loss of the Browns in Cleveland's face," Larkin wrote. He included the address of Sauerbrey's campaign headquarters in the column and said yesterday that at least three readers had called to tell him they were sending checks.

For its part, Sauerbrey's campaign said it takes its support from all quarters -- even Ohio. Marylanders still remember how hard it was to lose the Colts 14 years ago and understood the Clevelanders' loss, said Sauerbrey spokesman Jim Dornan. "It's obvious that [Glendening] has zero understanding of sportsmanship or fan loyalty," he said.

But Glendening campaign spokesman Peter Hamm said bringing the Browns to Maryland was just another example of Glendening's fine work at economic development.

Added campaign manager Tim Phillips: "I grew up in Ohio. I wasn't aware that growing up in Ohio you were allowed to vote for governor of Maryland. I must have missed civics class that day."